Lott knocks Paul, talks filibuster reform

12/7/12 1:32 PM EST

Former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott gave Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and other unnamed Republicans a verbal spanking Friday, calling them "ridiculous" for threatening to hold up defense authorization legislation on the Senate floor this week.

Speaking at a National Conference of State Legislatures event, Lott criticized a “couple” of unnamed Republicans. He specifically called out Paul in response to a question from POLITICO afterward.

“That was rude. He shouldn’t have done that," Lott said of the tea party freshman. "That was inappropriate and [Senate Armed Services ranking member John] McCain called his hand, too.” Paul held up floor action for about three hours to give him time to review pending amendments — a delay partly caused by his postponed flight back to Washington.

But McCain this week said Paul’s effort to block the National Defense Authorization Act “lends some credence to the argument” for filibuster reform that Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate Democrats are making.

But Lott cautioned that Democrats “need to be very careful about how they do that. What they are proposing doing is way too much. And Republicans are going to resent the way it’s done and what is done. So Democrats need to be very careful about how they start this new session.”

He was referring to some sweeping changes proposed by some Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), to utilize the so-called constitutional or “nuclear” option that allow Senate rules to be changed by a simple majority vote.

Reid has talked about more narrowly removing the ability to filibuster on motions to proceed to bills, which is the initial parliamentary move to start debate on a measure on the Senate floor.

Lott said even on that Reid would be going too far. And the Mississippi Republican offered his own “gentleman’s agreement” to how the Nevada Democrat and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell can get along better.

Reid should “make a commitment to allow senators to offer amendments for a reasonable period of time and then McConnell commit to him that he’s not going to filibuster every motion to proceed,” Lott said. “Only use it in rare occasions, which is what I did. … It’s not really about the rules, it’s about the people. That’s the solution.”

Lott acknowledged that the Senate “is so bound up by the rules that they almost can’t produce anything.” He specifically mentioned as a problem the ability of one senator to block a bill from going to a bicameral conference with the House.

Lott said the overall bipartisanship and debate on the $631 billion defense bill – which passed Tuesday 98-0 after five days of debate and hundreds of amendments – is “a perfect template” for what a better-functioning Senate could achieve moving forward.

Lott said he's been cast in an unfamiliar role.

“I have lately been accused of being an establishment moderate. When the hell did that happen?” he said.